Beverage Basics

Most caloric drinks – like sodas and juices – are loaded with sugar and send your insulin levels skyrocketing. Plus, they don’t have fiber to help you feel full, so you’ve just drunk 100 plus calories of liquid sugar, plus you are still going to feel hungry.

Juice too has a ton of sugar and calories – almost as much as soda. You’re much better off eating the fruit

If you think you’re going to consume the sugar-free version of these drinks to get around the calories and sugar problem. The other version has chemicals, which make us fat.

If you find a drink that’s sweetened with a natural, low-calorie sweetener like stevia or xylitol, that’s okay – these sugar substitutes are not believed to cause insulin spike. But water is always a better choice

We all know that water is good for weight loss; it helps curb hunger, flushes out toxins that make us sick and fat, boost energy, and speeds metabolism by up to 3 percent. While 3 percent may not seem like a lot, when you add it up over the course of a lifetime, it makes a big difference on your waistline. I guarantee it.

The best rule of thumb to stay optimally hydrated is to drink until your pee looks like lemonade. If it’s darker in color – apple juice – you need more water. It really is that simple.

If you are wondering or worrying about what type of water you should drink – as in alkaline (water that has a low pH balance) or ionized (water with ionized minerals that have an electric charge) – don’t. This isn’t one you need to overthink.